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Utilization Rate Calculator for Accounting Firms

Harvest helps accounting firms maximize revenue by accurately tracking and optimizing utilization rates, addressing the 40% labor cost challenge in the industry.

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How much revenue is your team leaving on the table?

Most agencies run at 55-60% utilization. Even a small improvement means significant revenue. See what closing the gap looks like for your team.

Number of people who track billable time
$
Blended rate across roles (junior, senior, lead)
55%
Percentage of total hours that are billable. Industry average is 55-60%.
75%
A realistic target for service businesses is 70-80%.
Monthly revenue gap $0
Revenue at current utilization $0/mo
Revenue at target utilization $0/mo
Extra billable hours needed per person/day 0h
Annual revenue opportunity $0

Start tracking team utilization

Walk through the entire flow below. Start a timer, check your reports, and create a real invoice — all in three clicks.

Go ahead — start tracking!

One click and you're timing. Try it right here: start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Harvest.

  • One-click timer from browser, desktop & mobile
  • Works inside Jira, Asana, Trello, GitHub & 50+ tools
  • Duration or start/end — your call
  • Day, week & calendar views to stay on top of it all
  • Friendly reminders so no hour gets left behind
Acme Corp
Website Redesign
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1:24:09
Content Strategy
Blog calendar planning
1:30:00
SEO Audit
Technical audit report
0:45:00
Brand Guidelines
Color system documentation
2:15:00
Logo Concepts
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Today's total 6:54:09

Understanding Utilization Rates in Accounting Firms

The utilization rate is a crucial metric for accounting firms, measuring the percentage of total working hours spent on billable client work. It provides insights into how effectively a firm uses its staff to generate revenue. The formula for calculating this rate is straightforward: (Billable Hours Worked / Total Available Hours) x 100. For accounting firms, aiming for a utilization rate between 65% and 85% for individual billable employees is often considered ideal. Firm-wide, a rate around 60% is typically in line.

Understanding and optimizing utilization rates is key to improving profitability. For example, a firm with a 5% increase in utilization could see a significant boost in revenue without any increase in labor costs. Given that labor costs can account for over 40% of revenue, maximizing efficiency through utilization is essential. Harvest empowers accounting firms to track these critical metrics accurately, providing detailed insights into both billable and non-billable hours.

Calculating Utilization Rates with Harvest

Calculating utilization rates accurately can be challenging, especially when considering the mix of billable and non-billable activities. With Harvest, accounting firms can seamlessly track and analyze time spent on various projects. Harvest's time tracking capabilities allow firms to log both billable hours and necessary non-billable activities, such as training and administrative tasks.

Harvest provides detailed reports that help firms calculate utilization rates by role, from interns to partners. For instance, while junior staff might aim for a 90% utilization rate, partners typically have lower rates due to strategic roles. By offering role-specific insights, Harvest helps firms optimize workload distribution and improve overall efficiency.

The Impact of Utilization on Profitability

Utilization rates directly influence an accounting firm's profitability and operational efficiency. High utilization rates generally lead to increased revenue, but there's a delicate balance to maintain. Overworking staff with rates nearing 100% can lead to burnout, affecting both employee satisfaction and work quality. Harvest aids in finding this balance by providing comprehensive utilization data.

For example, firms achieving a utilization rate of 65% can benchmark themselves against top performers who reach around 69%. By leveraging Harvest's tools to monitor utilization, firms can identify opportunities to adjust billing rates or redistribute workloads, ensuring both profitability and employee well-being.

Improving Utilization Rates with Harvest

Improving utilization rates involves strategic workload management and process optimization. Harvest equips accounting firms with the necessary tools to enhance these metrics. By using Harvest's insights, firms can adjust billing rates and project scopes based on real-time data, ensuring projects remain profitable.

Harvest's integration capabilities with platforms like Asana and Slack further enable streamlined communication and project management, reducing non-billable time spent on administrative tasks. By enhancing workflow efficiency, accounting firms can focus more on billable activities, thereby improving their utilization rates and profitability.

Calculate Utilization Rates with Harvest

The preview shows Harvest's utilization rate calculator, helping accounting firms track and optimize billable hours for better profitability.

Screenshot of Harvest utilization rate calculator for accounting firms

Utilization Rate Calculator for Accounting Firms FAQs

  • The formula for calculating the utilization rate is (Billable Hours Worked / Total Available Hours) x 100. This metric is crucial for assessing how effectively employees' time is used in generating revenue.

  • A utilization rate between 65% and 85% is generally considered good for individual billable employees in accounting firms. Firm-wide, a 60% rate is typical. High rates suggest efficiency, while extremely high rates can indicate potential burnout.

  • A good utilization rate for accounting firms is typically between 65% and 85% for individual employees, while firm-wide averages around 60% are considered standard. These benchmarks help maintain a balance between efficiency and employee well-being.

  • Improving utilization rates involves optimizing workload distribution and reducing non-billable activities. Harvest can help by providing detailed insights into time tracking, allowing for better resource allocation and project management.

  • Yes, Harvest offers a utilization rate calculator tailored for accounting firms. It helps track billable and non-billable hours, providing insights necessary for optimizing efficiency and profitability.

  • Harvest integrates with Asana to streamline project management and time tracking. This integration helps reduce non-billable administrative work, allowing firms to focus more on billable tasks and improve utilization rates.

  • Yes, Harvest allows you to track expenses alongside billable hours. This holistic approach helps accounting firms manage project costs effectively and maintain profitability.